JCPenney will close its longtime store at Bellevue Square Mall around Nov. 1, company spokesman Joey Thomas said Wednesday.

As a result, 141 employees will be laid off, according to the state Employment Security Department.

Penney has operated at Bellevue Square since 1959. "It's definitely been an important part of our history for sure," mall spokeswoman Jennifer Leavitt said.

JCPenney, one the mall's three anchor tenants, along with Nordstrom and Macy's, occupies about 200,000 square feet at Belle Square. Kemper Development, which owns and operates Bellevue Square, is making plans to replace the department store at the south end of the 1.3-million-square-foot mall.

Kemper's plan calls for creating a space with "multiple specialty stores" around a common area, Leavitt said. She indicated the mall owner is talking to prospective tenants. "We are in negotiations but I don't have anything to share at this time."

Bellevue Square is in the midst of a $1.2 billion expansion that will add about 400,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space along with an office high-rise, apartment buildings and two hotels.

JCPenney has been struggling lately. A week ago, though, shares rallied while the company's debt costs fell after J.P. Morgan published a bullish note on the department store chain, citing new management to planned store closures, according to a repor t on MarketWatch. An analyst said he thought the company would like close more than 100 of its approximately 1,060 stores.

"As we continue our turnaround, an important part of our work is identifying opportunities that enable JCPenney to maximize long-term growth and profitability," Thomas said in a statement. "While it’s never an easy decision to close stores, especially due to the impact on our valued associates and customers, we feel this is a necessary business decision."

The closure of the Bellevue store leaves JCPenney with eight stores in the metropolitan Puget Sound area, according to the company's website.

This story has been updated with comments from JCPenney and information about the number of job losses.